I grew up in a home where using offensive and vulgar language was a huge no-no. I've never heard either of my parents cuss... ever. When I was a kid, my two cousins and I were always together. Both boys, one a year older than me and one a year younger. The older one once said to me, "When you hear a bad word do you feel your heart like, skip a beat? I do." I told him, "No, not really. One day, when we are older, we will probably cuss." Several years later, that same cousin said to me, "Do you remember that time you said that one day we would probably cuss and change and stuff?" I said, "Yeah." "You were right," he said. gee... I was a wise little kid, huh? But at that time he said that, I hadn't changed much. It wasn't until I was 12 or 13, in 7th grade, when I was just beginning to see myself as gay (because I was then attracted to boys of my own age) that I "experimented" with using bad language. I guess I felt like I would just further rebel, since I was already rebelling by being gay (how naive I was).

Well, the cussing stage of my life didn't last long. I felt stupid... I knew I was only doing it to get attention and plus I felt like I was going against everything I had ever been taught... but it was different than the way I felt about my sexual attractions. It was very clear to me that I was making a choice to say those bad words... but no choice had been made to be attracted to the people I was attracted to. It became very clear to me, by people's reactions to my cussing, that I didn't want to be like everyone else and succumb to the pressures that every kid faces... the ones that say "be like everyone else."

When I am over at my yfs house (they are brothers), it's pretty much a guarantee that there will be someone using offensive or vulgar language. And it's almost always associated with anger. Both of their parents will cuss, and their two older brothers (both over 18) do all the time. Again, almost 100% of the time, the cussing is used to express feelings of anger and even rage. The two older brothers get really mad about stuff all the time and yell and cuss at their parents. And usually when I'm over there not a whole lot is said, but I'm sure when I'm not there, the fights are much bigger. I hate that my yfs have to hear all of it though... and being taught that those kind of confrontations are okay and acceptable.

So, I pretty much hate the use offensive and vulgar language. But not because I believe that the words are bad. It's because of the negative connotations that come with them. I actually told my friends yesterday that "if cuss words weren't associated with the kinds of people and things that they are, I would cuss all the time." I think that in certain situations of immense emotion, the use of such words can really help express those feelings. But for someone who uses those words all of the time, the emotional impact of them is next to none.

I also agree with pretty much everything that Chris said.

Sorry if I totally got off topic.